Of Sapphire Skies and Crimson Seas
by FantasyWR
Summary: Set five years after the Final Turn of Code Geass R2. Slightly AU. Chapters retitled. Now Complete.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note:**

When I initially conceived the idea for this story during the course of Code Geass season 1, it was meant to be a side story and the characters were supposed to be secondary. However, as the season progressed even into the second season and with the addition of even more canon characters, the story evolved, though I retained quite a lot of info/facts from Code Geass 1 while sometimes completely ignoring some from the R2. Readers may be initally confused about the characters introduced here, perhaps due to me altering their backgrounds (for characters appearing in the series) or the fact that they are created solely by me. I have had the intention to write another story (with the storyline tangent to the original storyline) to formally introduce the characters as they come, but somehow, I've never gotten down to doing it. I will try to leave as much character information in this story now and then, occasionally weaving them into the plot, and I hope that that will answer most of the questions you have about them. Enjoy.

-FantasyWR

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**Part I: The Traveller's Tale**

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**Chapter 1:**

Maxima had to admit – the road was bumpier than she last remembered it to be. It has been almost a year since she last set foot on that corner of the world, and she was truly grateful that she was returning to that same place instead of having to hunt down their latest abode. She couldn't blame them for doing so, though; it has been a long five years since they left and over the course of that half-a-decade of time, they resorted to – and were probably already accustomed to – leading a rather nomadic life and never staying in a single area for more than six months, for more reasons than one. It was certainly unexpected when she received a letter – Morse-coded, nonetheless – from them that they were expecting her at the same place she had met them last July, and although she hadn't sent back a reply asking why they had not moved to a new place, she couldn't stop wondering why.

_Maybe they'd wanted a break from all that moving around,_ she mused. _They would have to do that for a very long time to come, anyway._

Beside her, her fellow traveller, exhausted from all the work he had to rush through in order to accompany her on her trip to nowhere, had fallen fast asleep, his head resting against the side of the carriage. Maxima smiled as she reached out a hand to his face and brushed away a few stray strands of blond hair that had fallen over his sleeping face. He stirred at her touch, but after grunting some incoherent words, he went back to his snoring.

She couldn't help but stare at his face – the same face she had fallen in love with during the course of the war; the same face that pouted when she refused his initial advances; the same face that contorted with both fear and anger when she told him that she was going to marry another; the same face that smiled when he rescued her from that doomed wedding ceremony; the same face that cried tears of joy when she finally flung herself into his arms, promising never to leave him again.

She had kept her word, even dragging him along everywhere she went. It wasn't against his will, though – it was his duty as her knight to be beside his princess all the time. She knew she was selfish – he wasn't just her knight, he was Britannia's knight, the Empress' knight, but she had wanted him all to herself. Nunnally didn't show any objection to that, but Suzaku did express some concerns about having the First Princess steal away the one of the Empire's knight for long periods at a time. Maxima had rebuffed him, saying that Suzaku's own presence would suffice the Empire's need of a knight, and that there were more Knights of Rounds then just the Knight of One.

Come to think of it, Maxima realised that he was in essence the only Knight from her father's reign to stay on as a member of the Rounds, though he had been promoted, having been the most senior Knight left. Anya had resigned to go tend an orange plantation with Jeremiah, while Nonette had left, saying that she wanted to go explore the world before she became too old. Then again, Nonette was never really involved in the affairs of the Knights of Rounds – she even declined to stand with Waldstein when he wanted to overthrow Lelouch. Suzaku, well, his position and situation were quite self-explanatory; after all, he was the one the remaining Knights of Rounds had to face when they challenged Lelouch's right to the throne. Georgia Marken, Knight of Two, however, just faded into her real identity of Maxima el Britannia.

Speaking of Anya, the girl had become rather close to the former Purist. Jeremiah was reportedly the one who removed the effect of Marianne Lamperouge's Geass from her with his Geass Canceller. How he managed to rope her in to his orange plantation project was still beyond Maxima, even though she had known Jeremiah for a long time, ever since his stint as one of the guards at the Aries Palace. As a child, Maxima had been a regular visitor to Empress Marianne's palace, not because she was interested in her father's other consort, but rather, she was a regular playmate of the Empress' two children, especially her son. Initially, she went alone, but when her younger sister Euphemia expressed interest in meeting Marianne's children, she had brought the little girl – just a few years younger than herself – along with her, of course with the permission of Euphemia's overprotective older sister. Then again, it was Schneizel who had sought Cornelia's consent for her, being the kind of older brother that he was, so Maxima suspected that Cornelia had been compelled to allow Euphie to tag along with her.

It was Euphie who succeeded her as the regular visitor of the Aries Palace after Maxima left for boarding school in Area 1, and between the time she left and the time she returned seven years later, the Empress had been assassinated by perpetrators unknown, her children banished to Japan as political hostages of the Sakuradite Conflict, and Maxima's own mother had been appointed the new empress – a position Maxima knew that her mother, although the daughter of the most influential aristocratic house apart from the actual royal family and far above the criteria required of an empress, received grudgingly. Georgina had enjoyed her freedom as one of the Emperor's queens, and had a free reign in raising her two children. It had been difficult for feisty and strong-willed, yet regal and demure Georgina to fully accept the limitations intertwined with the role as the head of the Emperor's harem. Fortunately, as Georgina had told Maxima once, both Schneizel and Maxima were no longer young, impressionable children when she took the throne beside their father.

Georgina had died soon after Lelouch took the throne, having been of poor health for the last few years. Maxima thought that it was best that she left before she saw how pathetic her prized son had become. Maxima had always revered Schneizel. Through her eyes as a young child, her brother seemed to be perfect in any way and every way, even outshining his older brother the Crown Prince. It was ironic that both fell to Maxima's younger brother Lelouch, though it took Lelouch a longer time to subdue Schneizel. While Odysseus was now effectively out of his misery, with credit all due to Schneizel, Schneizel himself was to remain under the effect of Lelouch's Geass to serve Zero, who was now Suzaku. Maxima had tried talking to Schneizel after Nunnally's ascension, and she was distressed at the hollow, empty shell her beloved, intelligent brother had become. True, she actually hated Schneizel when he tried to use Nunnally as a means to control Lelouch and when he fired FLEIJA at the Pendragon, on top of all the other unscrupulous methods he used in order regain the Empire from the clutches of 'Lelouch the demon', but he was still her brother – her only full-blooded brother. There were times when she considered smuggling Jeremiah into the palace or Schneizel into Jeremiah's orange plantation in order to have Jeremiah undo the Geass cast onto the prince, but Suzaku had warned her against it, stating all the various possibilities of Schneizel turning back into the scheming, cold-blooded yet paradoxically apathetic fiend Lelouch had to deal with once all control measures on him were lifted.

It was unexpected that the Empress Georgina would be the only person in the palace that was not under Lelouch's Geass when he usurped the throne. Maxima thought that Lelouch would have placed her under his power as soon as he was in position to do so, Georgina having been technically his mother's competition to their father's affections. It was only after Lelouch had sent an imperial edict commanding Maxima's return to the capital and her compliance that she realised that her half-brother had always had much respect for her mother. After Marianne's murder, Georgina had, for a while, taken care of Nunnally, who had been wounded both physically and emotionally by her mother's death, and had ensured that Lelouch was healthy, and even after they had left for Japan, she maintained correspondence with the Ashford family who updated her about the prince and princess' situation until the Emperor found out and severed all communications from the mainland to Japan.

The Empress was also somehow aware of Charles and Marianne's plan of Ragnarok, though naturally in less detail than Lelouch, C.C. or Suzaku after the incident in the Thought Elevator. She was supportive of Lelouch's plans and apparently, as Maxima suspected, aware of Zero Requiem – Lelouch's suicidal mission. Maxima herself only came to know about the plan much later, at the time around its completion, along with C.C. and Jeremiah, who had been loyal to Lelouch ever since he realised Lelouch's real aims. Ironically, it turned out that she came to know more details of the plan than Suzaku, Zero Requiem's co-executor, ever knew – details that she knew would hurt Suzaku more than the day he was forced to impale his best friend on international television and watch him bleed to death.

A soft moan broke Maxima's train of thought and she turned to see her companion straighten out his neck, his hand massaging the area nearest to his shoulders. Maxima snickered, and she earned a glare from him.

"How was your nap?" she asked good-naturedly, still trying to stifle a laugh as he continued to pound on his shoulder blade.

"Gee, you think?" he snorted. "I have a terrible pain in my neck and shoulders from sleeping in a weird position." He rolled his eyes at her again when she coughed choking on the gurgle of amusement in her throat. "You should have woken me up before my neck became sore."

"Oh," she asked innocently. "Now you're blaming me for your pain?"

"Hmm," he thought for a while, snaking an arm from behind Maxima and onto her left shoulder, pulling her close to his warm frame. "I wouldn't, if you gave me a massage and maybe, one orange from the carton."

"So you've finally showed your true colours?" she asked rhetorically. "Those oranges aren't for you anyway."

"Ah, but he won't notice if just one orange is gone," he reassured her, though it seemed that he was trying to convince himself more than her.

Maxima sighed. They had stopped by Jeremiah's orange plantation en route for a night's stay, like they always did, and like always, Anya and Sayako had always asked them where they were going and who they were visiting. Maxima brushed off that topic with the same answer every time.

"_Friends," she said, taking a sip of freshly-squeezed orange juice from the glass. "They like moving around, so we usually have to go hunt them down."_

Sayako didn't seem convinced and had tried to probe further.

"_Do we know these 'friends' of yours?" she asked, her eyes fixated on Maxima's own, catching the princess' gaze._

"_Maybe," Maxima replied ambiguously. "Then again, I'm not sure if you've met them."_

Of course Maxima knew that Sayako knew these 'friends' of hers, but it wasn't her say to tell her about them, especially when they preferred to remain anonymous. Besides, it was probably for the best that they didn't know – the secret was to remain a secret within the few of them alone.

She had already told her companion about her friends; more accurately, she showed him them on her very first visit in which she had pulled him from his work and onto the road to find their residence. She remembered the shock on his face when he first came face to face with none other than their old acquaintances. He had, in his delusional and confused state of mind, crashed into all four walls of their simple abode while trying to literally run away from the ghosts of the past – a comical yet heart-wrenching sight to behold. However, since that incident, he had always been her faithful companion when she decides to pay them a visit, and he had been the only one whom she personally trusted with that secret.

Jeremiah had passed her the carton of oranges when they were about to leave to continue on their journey. He didn't ask who they were because he already knew from the beginning – maybe even before Maxima herself was aware.

"_As always," he said, handing her the carton. "Tell them that if they want more, I could always give them another carton or so."_

_She smiled. "That I will, but they never did ask for more. I think that a carton this year will suffice, Jeremiah. Thanks anyway."_

"_How are they?" he asked, sealing the carton with masking tape._

"_You mean, 'how is _he_?'" said Maxima suddenly, and she couldn't help but laugh at Jeremiah's gasp at being found out._

_His face turned a nasty shade of red, but he quickly regained his composure, as expected of a former elite soldier. "He's good, no?" Jeremiah asked._

"_Yeah," she agreed, turning her attention to the sun that had just begun its ascent over the foggy mountains in the background. "He's happy, and I think that's all that matters."_

"So, do I get an orange?" a hushed whisper sounded in her right ear, interrupting her thoughts, and she proceeded to punch the one responsible playfully in the arm.

"No," said Maxima, her voice firm. "Not even if you begged me, Gino Weinberg."

Gino pouted, his lower lip protruding more than his upper lip, and looked at her with watery puppy eyes. Maxima ignored him; Gino had always used that trick even though he knew that Maxima never did – and never will – fall for it. "Please…" his voice came out low and hoarse.

Maxima turned to look at him, a wry smile forming on her lips. Before Gino could react, she had pressed her lips onto his, giving a quick peck, then backed away and folded her arms across her chest. "I believe that that's sweeter than any orange in the carton, don't you think so too?"

Gino blinked and then laughed, his arm pulled her even closer to him and she rested her head on his shoulder. "Of course, my princess, that was sweeter and more valuable than any orange," he said, giving her a light kissed on her forehead. He inhaled deeply, internalising the sweet fragrance of her hair. "Did you change your brand of shampoo again?"

She elbowed him and remarked dryly, "Only you pay attention to this kind of trivial stuff."

"Yes," he agreed, his fingers combing through her golden locks. "But if I don't, who will?"

Maxima surprisingly didn't respond to his question, even though it had been rhetorical; she was the kind who almost always had something to say about anything – that he found out when he first met her as Georgia Marken, Knight of Two, and was immediately pricked – if not, slashed – by her liberal use of sarcasm when he tried to entertain her with his, as she had put it, 'nonsense'.

She hadn't been very talkative when he first met her, he must admit, and he actually perceived her to be the quiet, friendly type. However, he was proved absolutely wrong when she barked at him for trying to get too friendly with her and threatened to dice him up when he tried to hold her hand to lead her to the hangar. While he stood there bewildered by her cold, unfriendly attitude and wondered why she was the only one who had reacted so violently towards him, Suzaku had given him a stare that had made him realise that even he, Suzaku, had been somewhat annoyed by him, Gino, at some point in time, and that Georgia had been the only one who showed no patience with his flippant ways.

It was perhaps her temperament that aroused in him an interest of the quiet spitfire. He noticed that she was on good terms with Dorothea Ernst, Nonette Enneagram, Monica Kruszewski and even Suzaku, of all people. He also caught Luciano Bradley showing her some form of respect, even though that hot-headed, reckless, blood-thirsty vampire had none for practically anyone. What disturbed him the most was that she had been exceptionally close to Bismarck Waldstein. Waldstein was indeed some sort of a mentor to all the younger Knights, but her relationship with him was unnaturally and disturbingly close, intimate even. Gino remembered searching through all available databases for any hint of Georgia's family background or history – for Georgia herself had been rather tight-lipped on that issue whenever it was raised – but all the files he found were either confidential, restricted or extremely brief. All he gathered was that she had been schooled in Area 1 for a few years of her childhood and early teens – the same region Waldstein was Governor-General of – and that she had been posted to practically everywhere on the globe by the Emperor for unknown missions or jobs.

It was only much later that her true identity as the First Princess of the Holy Britannian Empire was revealed. Gino knew that it was not planned; Georgia had disclosed her true lineage on national television while discrediting Zero's claims. From then on, Gino viewed her in a totally different light, not because she was of royal descent, but because he finally understood why she could be so calm, collected and charming at one point and cold, crude and critical a split second later. He realised that these were her two personalities, just like her two personas, but he could not clearly define which persona was the calm and charming one or the cold, critical one. Over time, he has had some idea on which is which, though he suspects that his labels may be different from hers. The cold, crude and critical persona, he dubbed Georgia Marken, Knight of Two and war veteran, while he referred the calm, collected and charming persona as Her Highness Maxima el Britannia, First Princess of the Empire. Despite the differentiation, he loved her most when she was the combination of both – that he called Maxima, not the princess Maxima el Britannia, but just Maxima.

He had gotten a little more insight on that matter when he realised who her brother was. Schneizel el Britannia was a man white as the angels but shrouded in the darkness of mystery. He was a competent man, even more so than his elder half-brother Odysseus u Britannia, who was in theory supposed to be the next Emperor of the large empire. When Schneizel had taken Suzaku's offer to commit regicide and take the throne for himself, Gino had known that the prince was more than capable to do so, but was against the idea purely out of loyalty to the balance of the status quo. Schneizel had him detained because of that, and that action alone had been the trigger that set off a grenade of questions in Gino's mind throughout the entire war and left him to search the deepest, darkest corner of his conscience for the answers. While he groped, Schneizel had begun on a quest to overthrow his own younger brother Lelouch who had eliminated their father and claimed the throne for himself, which resulted in him committing sins that stained his previously pure persona a disgusting red and turned him into the cold-blooded monster the world had thought him to be.

Gino mused that only a few months before, the same prince had been the one who doomed his own sister's marriage to the previous Knight of One. More accurately, Schneizel had orchestrated the chaos that interrupted Maxima's wedding ceremony and gave Gino the chance to swoop down and rescue her from the inferno of an arranged marriage. Schneizel had only agreed to do so when Gino had professed his love for Maxima in front of Schneizel and promised that he was able to give Maxima what Waldstein thought he could but in reality could not – his heart. It was there and then that Gino realised there was a person who actually loved Maxima more than he, and that was her own brother whom she later denounced when she found out that he had blasted the Britannian capital to oblivion.

Schneizel still lives, both fortunately and unfortunately, although Gino doesn't really consider him as living. During the course of the Battle of Damocles, Lelouch – the young man who had lived his life never actually able to beat his older, more experience brother in a game of chess – finally overpowered Schneizel and subdued him with his Geass. Schneizel now only serves Zero and nothing else. Gino remembered how Maxima had came crying to him, clearly distressed at the state her brother was in, but never blamed Lelouch. Instead, Gino knew that Maxima blamed herself because she had, for a time, truly hated her brother and was now unable to really reconcile with him.

Gino suddenly noticed that Maxima's breathing had become deeper and stable. He tilted his head to look at her face, and found her to have fallen asleep. He smiled; she had insisted that she be in charge of all the logistic work of their trip, even with all the court work she had to vet through. The planning had obviously taken a toll on her. He traced a finger over the edge of her face, knowing that it would not rouse her. Maxima had always been a heavy sleeper, even during her time as a Knight of Rounds.

Something in him made him study her face. It was not the first time he seen her up so close, and he believed that it wouldn't be the last either, yet it was as intriguing as the first time he had seen it. It was the same face that had mesmerised Gino's own father more than thirty years ago. Schneizel and Maxima were known to resemble their mother very much, and Maxima was almost an exact copy of Georgina, whom Gino's father had known and fallen in love with as young teens, and had parted with when she was sent by the wishes of her family to marry the Crown Prince of Britannia. The only difference between Maxima and Georgina's appearance is the colour of their eyes – Maxima had inherited her father's eyes. Strangely enough, out of the many children Charles di Britannia's 108 consorts had borne him, only two had his purple eyes – one being Maxima, the other, Marianne's son Lelouch. However, Maxima shared only the shade of her irises with the Emperor; her gaze was identical to the Empress Georgina's – it was fierce, yet meek; powerful, yet mellow; passionate, yet subtle; wild, yet tamed. It was perhaps the paradox of their gazes that had captivated the hearts of both father and son.

Gino remembered the first time he had invited Maxima – then only known to him as Georgia Marken – to his home. It had been during one of the breaks interspersed between missions and he had decided, out of goodwill, to bring her home for dinner as she had then claimed that she had no family residing within the capital. She had surprisingly agreed. There weren't many people at his place – his brother and sister were away, his mother in Area 4 visiting a relative - only servants and his father. When Gino had introduced Georgia to the older Weinberg, Lord Weinberg senior had been stunned, not only because she had resembled his first love in appearance, but also her name. It was only later that Maxima admitted to Gino that she had named her alias after her mother's own. Gino's father had told his son some years later that it must have been fate that brought Gino and Maxima together, as their parents were denied the chance to have happiness with each other.

The older Lord Weinberg had been at Georgina's deathbed the night she passed away, and the two former lovers had spent their one last time together in silence until the Empress closed her eyes with a smile on her face. Gino's father had explained to Gino that Georgina always believed that silence spoke more than words, and he had thought that it was perhaps for the best that they enjoyed one last moment of perfect silence together there and then. After the Empress' death, Gino noticed that his father had grown much quieter and had probably retreated into himself. It was then that Gino concluded that his father had really loved the Empress even after she had left him to marry another, and that it was his love that allowed him to let her go.

Gino knew that he was incapable of doing such a self-sacrificing deed. He knew he was selfish when he lost his temper after being told that Maxima was going to marry Bismarck Waldstein. It was nothing new for the First Princess to be marrying the Knight of One; in fact, it had been a tradition ever since the reign of the 90th Emperor – a tradition that Gino had no intention to break. Indeed, he had freed his princess from the clutches of a loveless marriage, but he knew that this was only running away from the problem. He knew that he had to solve it, and the only way to do so was by becoming the very thing he had initially sought to topple – by becoming the Knight of One. Only then will he be able to claim her as his own and no one else's, and finally giving her the happiness that she deserved.

Looking at her lying in his arms, her head on his shoulder, Gino knew without a doubt that he had been successful. Taking a deep breath, he placed his cheek on the top of her head and within a few moments, he had joined her in the world of dreams.

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**Endnotes:**

Maxima was a character I created while watching Code Geass 1, and she wasn't supposed to be a princess, or anyone royal for the matter. But somehow, she did become one. I chose to ignore R2's Guinevere and crown Maxima as the First Princess. With the introduction of the Knights of Round, I thought, hey, why not let her be one as well, as a woman with a double identity. Perhaps when thinking about that, Cornelia came into the picture, but then again, Maxima is totally different from Cornelia, whom I believe to be a stronger character than Maxima, having been an older sister to Euphemia while Maxima was the younger sibling. Also, Cornelia would perhaps be a better team leader while Maxima tends to work solo.

Gino was a character I thought to have been quite neglected in the series, though he often served as the comedy factor. Maybe what really caught my attention was that he was blond (yes, FantasyWR has a penchant for blond boys) and that he was voiced by Souichiro Hoshi (aka Kira Yamato from Gundam Seed). laughs

So let's hazard and put these two together. More information to come in later chapters.

Till next time.

-FantasyWR


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:**

A considerably shorter chapter than the last. Enjoy.

-FantasyWR

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**Chapter 2:**

As soon as the carriage came to a halt outside their next destination, Maxima swung the metal door open and peered into the scenery surrounding them. It has been a long time since she had come to that place – the last time being a good five years ago. Within those five years, the entire Area had transformed from a war-torn, barren wasteland to a colourful and peaceful countryside as the barracks were demolished and holiday villas started springing up from where the camps had been. From Maxima's understanding, the real estate business in Area 3 had been very profitable – the houses built here were into the thousands, and each easily priced at more than a million Britannian pounds. It is unsaid that the owners of these luxury getaways had to be either people with great social standing or with unimaginable amounts of money, which, in Britannia, equates to people with great social standing, in any case. The people who owned the house she now stood in front of were no exception.

A single backward glance at her ride told her that she was to go in alone. Their latest sleeping position had left Maxima relatively well-rested and charged up and Gino with yet another sore neck. As soon as she had stepped out of the carriage, Gino had taken the liberty of occupying her half of the seat by lying down on the entire velvet cushioned bench and had gone back to sleep, saying that he will wait for her outside. With a sigh and a shrug, Maxima went up to the large double doors of the estate, and was greeted by the guards stationed there, who then hurriedly went to inform their masters of her arrival.

An elderly butler led her in through the oak doors and down a long, brightly-lit corridor. The cream walls were filled with photographs of every occasion, but one stood out more than the rest, not only because it was the only painting among the rows of photographs. Maxima stood in awe in front of its massive gilded frame. It was a simple portrait with only two people in it, but the scenery chosen to serve as its background was breathtakingly magnificent. Maxima recognized it as the Aries Palace garden – the same garden she and her siblings once rolled around in as children. The Aries Palace was famous for nothing but its garden – it had been the subject of many paintings and photographs commissioned by the imperial family. Maxima remembered how Clovis loved to visit said garden whenever he had the urge to paint, much to the annoyance of his mother Queen Gabriella, who felt that he had better things to do than mixing colours. Although Gabriella was never really supportive of Clovis' artistic flair, it was ironically a portrait he had done of her sitting among the newly blossomed tulips of the Aries Palace garden that she had clung onto as she descended into madness after his death almost eight years ago.

Maxima knew that the current painting was not done by her late brother – it was a recent work, done by a well-known Britannian painter Maxima herself had hired for that special occasion. Maxima never got to see the finished piece until now, and she knew that she had made the right recommendation to the people who wanted the painting done. She could not help but run a finger down the glass protecting the canvas as she stared at the smiling faces framed by golden panels. As she turned to continue down the corridor, she prayed that all was as well as it had been in the painting.

The butler pushed open yet another set of double doors which opened into another room. Maxima immediately noticed that the walls were of a pale green hue which matched the dark green cushions lined up neatly on various chesterfields around the spacious room. However, what caught her attention was the sight of three people seated in the centre of the room. There were two adults seated next to each other on a loveseat, with the one on the left bouncing a dark-haired toddler on her knee.

The butler who escorted Maxima in took a bow, and in a deep voice, announced, "Your Highnesses, Princess Maxima is here."

The violet-haired woman had already noticed Maxima's presence even before the butler spoke. She set the toddler next to her and, with a wave, dismissed the butler, who after another deep bow, disappeared down the corridor, closing the doors behind him. She then turned her attention to Maxima, and with the regal tone of voice Maxima had always known, greeted her.

"It has been a while, Maxima."

"Two-and-a-half years, in fact," corrected Maxima. "Cornelia."

The last time Maxima had seen Cornelia was during the latter's wedding in Neo-Wales. It had been a grand affair, after all, it was the first marriage to happen in the imperial family since Charles di Britannia took his last bride more than ten years ago. Maxima had served as her sister's maid of honour, although she knew that Cornelia would have preferred having Euphemia fill that place. It had been more than five years since Euphie died – she would have been a beautiful woman of twenty-plus if she were alive now – and Maxima was sure that Cornelia still missed her sister very much.

Maxima had never been very close to Cornelia as she was to her other siblings. Cornelia herself was only very attached to her own full-sister. Maxima could not fault their relationship, because for as long as Maxima could remember, the two sisters only had each other. Maxima never knew their mother, but according to Georgina, Eloise li Britannia was a woman who had never really made her presence felt. She always had a weak constitution and had two successful but difficult pregnancies apart from one miscarriage. If she had brought that baby to full term instead of losing it before the sixth month, Cornelia would have had a younger brother. That miscarriage left Eloise unable to conceive for almost seven years before she fell pregnant with Euphemia, but her weak body and willpower left both sisters without a mother soon after. Eloise had fallen into a coma after Euphemia was born and never regain consciousness.

Many of the Emperor's childless concubines had volunteered to raise the recently-orphaned sisters, but eleven-year-old Cornelia, strong-headed and stubborn as she always was, declined all offers and decided to care for Euphemia alone. It was only later that she found herself unable to effectively provide for her baby sister that she sought the assistance of Queen Gabriella. Even so, Gabriella la Britannia only stepped in occasionally when it became too taxing for Cornelia to handle.

Perhaps it was due to their mother's absence early in their lives and the hostility within the palace that left both sisters exceptionally close to each other. While Maxima and Schneizel – born nine years apart – were close to each other, their relationship could not rival that between Cornelia and Euphemia. Maxima could only guess how Cornelia felt when Euphemia died and when she knew the reasons behind her death. Maxima herself had been quite bitter about the entire incident, and only accepted it when she learnt of the reasons behind Euphie's murder straight from the murderer himself – her former playmate and the younger brother she had always been quite protective of – Lelouch.

After the wedding, Maxima had left for the former Area 14 for a diplomatic conference with Gino and only returned to the mainland a year later. Even then, she had not met Cornelia, who had left Neo-Wales for the former Area 3, a country down in the south, along with her former knight and new husband. Gilbert G.P. Guilford was never meant to be a soldier, or at least that was Maxima's opinion. The Guilfords were a family of scholars, and were more suited to be wielding quills than swinging Knightmare blades. Maxima had been briefly acquainted with Gilbert's older brother who was employed as one of the Imperial Recorders during her father's reign and found him to be nothing like his younger brother, save for their physical appearances. Eduard Guilford – she remembered that he had some other initials trailing his first name but never asked what they stood for and so eventually ignored them completely – too had dark hair and grey eyes and even chose the same spectacle frame as Gilbert, but like the rest of his family, the older Guilford was a scholar through and through. As sons of nobility, the Guilford brothers were entitled to quality education and occasionally rubbed shoulders with the imperial children. Eduard himself was a one-time classmate of Maxima's eldest brother, and according to Odysseus, Eduard had been a brilliant student with an intelligence perhaps only Lelouch or Schneizel could rival. The Emperor had been quick in employing this talent, and as soon as Eduard graduated, he joined the occupational ranks of his father and grandfather before him.

Unfortunately for the empire, Eduard did not stay long in this profession. When Charles was still on the throne, Eduard had already tendered his resignation and left for places unknown. It was only recently that he reappeared in the capital, and nothing had changed about him except his desire to serve in the Imperial courts. Even when Nunnally personally requested for him to take up his old post, Eduard had respectfully decline, stating that he would rather write for a hobby. It turned out that Eduard had authored many novels under a pseudonym, and Maxima herself had read and enjoyed some of his works not knowing the true identity of the writer.

Gilbert's story was a totally different chapter from his brother's. After graduating from school, Guilford, in line with his life-long interest, immediately enlisted in the military and within a few years had risen to the ranks of the Knightmare pilots. However, he only truly became a full knight after meeting Cornelia. Maxima is uncertain of the exact details of their first meeting, but soon after, the two were always seen together, Cornelia as the superior, Gilbert as her subordinate. It took another few more years before Gilbert, after proving himself on the battlefront, was officially inaugurated as the princess' personal knight. Maxima remembered the controversy that action alone had caused. Many had questioned the Second Princess' choice of knight, stating that there were many others who were worthy – in fact, of higher calibre than Gilbert Guilford – to be her second-in-command. Indeed, Cornelia's batch had seen probably the greatest number of outstanding soldiers, including Nonnette Enneagram and Dorothea Ernst. Yet, headstrong and independent Cornelia made her choice and ignored what the rest of the world said – much like what her sister Euphemia did later with Suzaku. On hindsight, Maxima noted that her sister, as always, had been right to rely on her own instincts.

A shrill cry drew Maxima's attention back to her surroundings and she felt a hard force around her knees. Looking down, she saw a head of black hair pressed against her thighs and arms wrapped around her lower legs. She instinctively reached out and ruffled that already messy head of hair and its owner squeezed her legs even tighter.

"That's enough Freddy, now let go of Aunt Maxima."

Maxima looked up to see Cornelia walking towards her with her hands stretched out. She crouched down before the little boy and slowly pried his arms and hands away from Maxima's knees and carried him up to Maxima's eye level. The little toddler squirmed and squealed excitedly.

"I didn't know he could walk," remarked Maxima, dividing her attention between the boy and his mother.

"He just learnt how to, but isn't that good at it yet," said Cornelia while gesturing that they take a seat. "He's been falling down a lot, but apparently, he thinks he's good enough to run."

"Just like his mother, stubborn to the core."

Cornelia actually laughed at Maxima's comment and set the little boy on the floor to amble into his father's outstretched arms. "It runs in the family," she hinted, eyeing Maxima playfully.

Maxima crossed her arms in retaliation, but could not deny her sister's accusation. If the two of them had anything in common, it would be their stubbornness that could put a truck-full of donkeys to shame. She turned her gaze towards Gilbert, who had just picked up his two-year-old son. Maxima remembered the first time she laid eyes on her nephew. Cornelia had sent a video of then-seven-month-old Frederick Guilford – named after yet another one of their brothers, Sixth Prince Frederick – to the main palace in Neo-Wales. What made Maxima so interested in the baby was the fact that he had Euphie's greyish-blue eyes – a trait not found in any other member of the Imperial family but rather, inherited from his long-dead maternal grandmother. Cornelia continued sending photographs and videos of young Freddy and even had some video calls with Maxima, and it was through these means that the dark-haired toddler came to know of his extended family, and vice versa.

"How's Gilbert?" Maxima asked, still not taking her eyes off father and son.

Next to her, Cornelia sighed. "There has been minimal progress, the doctors said that it will be impossible to regain back that 80% of vision he lost," her tone changed to sound more hopeful. "At least he can see Freddy's face. He would be devastated if he couldn't."

"It was a miracle that he actually survived," said Maxima softly. She had meant it; Gilbert had been caught in a FLEIJA explosion – the same explosion that Lelouch thought had claimed the life of his sister Nunnally – trying to push his princess out of the radius of the blast. The only issue was that his 'princess' had been Lelouch, who had cast a geass on him to make him think that Lelouch was Cornelia. Somehow or rather, when he had been ruled as 'missing-in-action' for almost a month, Gilbert's Knightframe was found floating off the Japanese coast, badly tattered but still intact. Apparently, the explosion had thrown him towards the sea, but although he was alive, the explosion blinded him. It took intensive surgery for him to regain a mere 20% of his vision – the other 80% would remain lost to him for the rest of his natural life.

Cornelia nodded, but said nothing. The door to the room opened slowly, and a maid came in with a tray of three intricately-designed teacups. Cornelia took a cup and handed another to Maxima while the maid set the third on a side table next to Gilbert. Bringing a cup to her nose, Cornelia took a whiff of the orange Darjeeling tea. Satisfied with the aroma, she took a sip and brought the cup back down onto the saucer. Maxima observed her sister's mannerisms – every move was perfectly executed to the standards of a princess taught to them by their governesses and mothers. It was hard to believe that Cornelia actually spent almost half of her life at the front lines, where being prim and proper served no purpose but to hinder one's progress in battle. Maxima herself spent a third of her life in the military, and sometimes, she felt her etiquette slipping from her fingers. Then again, there was an actual need for Maxima to conceal her true identity, while there was none for Cornelia.

"How long will you be staying, Maxima?" asked Cornelia in between sips of tea.

"Not very long," Maxima replied, setting her cup and saucer on the table next to the loveseat. "I happened to be passing through this area, but I'm headed somewhere else for another visitation."

"Oh," her sister remarked, slightly surprised. "And who will you be visiting?"

Maxima stood up and made her way to the window facing the villa garden. It was a beautiful sight to behold, but not as magnificent as the famed Aries Palace garden. She turned her head slightly to see Gilbert playing with Frederick and wondered if they would prefer playing outside like she did with her siblings years ago. Then, with a coy smile on her lips, she turned to face Cornelia, who blinked at her expression.

"Friends."


	3. Chapter 3

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Author's Note:

Here's Chapter 3, and it's a shorter entry again, since I feel there isn't much relevant information/background to give as of now. Also, I have changed the ages of the characters a little, for example Schneizel and Maxima's age gap to be more in canon with the original storyline (agree with me, the ages are a little confusing) in the previous chapters. Anyway, do enjoy!

-FantasyWR

**

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**

Chapter 3:

Gino woke up suddenly and bolted up from his makeshift bed, startled. It wasn't the presence of the noon sun shining through the glass windows of the carriage that woke him up, but rather the very absence of it. This immediately told him that they were well-behind schedule, and Maxima was still nowhere in sight, meaning that she had yet to return from her visit. Gino knew that if they did not leave soon, they would not be able to reach their intended final destination by sundown, not even factoring in Maxima's penchant for including very last-minute detours and unplanned visitations. The road leading to their final destination was deserted and rural even by today's standards, and it would be very difficult and unpleasant to travel there in the night.

Just as Gino sat there deciding between panicking in his seat and charging into Cornelia's villa to drag Maxima out, a single beep drew his attention to his wristwatch. One glance at the watch face told him that he had spent the last minute worrying for no apparent reason. According to his watch – adjusted to match the current local time – it was just slightly pass noon time. Another glance at the date on the watch face explained to him the absence of a glaring sun – it was in the middle of August, which, in the south, was a time bordering the end of winter and the beginning of spring and thus, the sun wasn't as bright as it was up in the north. At this realization, Gino heaved a sigh of relief and sunk back into his seat, wiping invisible sweat drops on his brow.

He looked out of the carriage window. The double doors of the villa were as silent and uninteresting as the time he saw Maxima disappear behind them through half-opened eyes. The footmen on duty had changed though, but other than the periodic early spring breeze that blew through the arcadia trees and rustled the leaves, all was quiet. Gino could have fallen right back asleep with all the action going on. Yet, there was something innate that prevented him from doing so, instead causing him to stare just as unmoving as the peaceful surrounding that he was in. He wondered if Maxima was in the villa doing the exact same thing as he was, bathing in the calmness of the environment and enjoying the breathtaking scenery. He knew that her mother would, according to what he knew about the late empress from his father. Yet, as much as she resembled Georgina, there were many differences in various aspects between mother and daughter, as Gino had come to realize over the last few years – their tastes, for examples. Just to mention colour, while Georgina would mostly wear very light, pale and subtle colours, Maxima would never be caught dead in anything less than bright yellow. Even as Georgia Marken, her Rounds uniform and standard were a deep crimson, somehow foreshadowing the amount of blood she would shed in war and battle. Gino suspected the reason why Maxima preferred to wear brighter colours was due to the fact that she grew up and lived in the palace amongst her hundred other siblings, where attracting attention to oneself was the sole key to survival, for with attention gives opportunities to be recognized – something Gino perhaps would never really understand, having grown up in a relatively small, protective and traditional family of five himself.

There was a time when Gino really thought that he could love no other but his current sweetheart, and that he and her were destined for a fairytale ending. Like all other children, he had grown up with the stories of peasant girls finding their Prince Charming and eventually living happily ever after. At the tender age of fourteen, he had fallen in love – in retrospect, perhaps it was just an infatuation or a simple case of puppy love – with a servant girl working in the Weinberg household. She was an Eleven – the politically correct term now would be 'Japanese' – orphaned at an early age when both her parents were killed, and was eventually hired as a domestic helper in Britannia. He remembered her name to be Yuriko – a girl with black hair, pretty brown eyes and a kind face, and that she was just a year younger than Gino himself. At that moment in time, he saw himself as the Prince Charming from the storybooks, and Yuriko his princess-to-be. Unfortunately for both, their fairytale turned into an absolute nightmare after an older servant spied on Gino giving Yuriko a peck on the cheek in the garden and quickly reported the incident to Gino's father.

In those days, relationships between Britannians and Numbers were greatly discouraged, and the staunch purists would even condemn such associations. The present situation was much better than it was years ago, but there was still undoubtedly unspoken and subtle discrimination – something Empress Nunnally was working hard to eradicate. Outright violence towards former Numbers had been recently outlawed and greater protection rights were given to those who required it. Gino sighed and wished that it had been like this a decade ago. As soon as he came to know of the matter, Lord Weinberg senior had the poor girl flogged and immediately terminated her contract with the Weinberg household, effectively leaving her without a job and a home. Gino had been – and perhaps still was – extremely bitter about that affair and resented his father's decision, but he knew that nothing could be done to make the older man change his mind and thus never voiced out his frustrations. However, Gino did remember spending countless nights crying himself to sleep, not because he had lost the one he loved, but rather that he was the very reason why she had been beaten and driven away. In the later years, he regretted not verbally questioning his father's actions, for some part of him knew that there were more reasons than the apparent that caused his father to throw Yuriko out.

As soon as he had turned sixteen, Gino – young, hot-headed and bitter as he was – left home, running away to join the military. Maxima had laughed at him when he told her that, saying that he should have run off to a circus instead; Gino just ignored that comment altogether. Even without any prior exposure to weapons and warfare, he quickly rose up the ranks, qualifying for a position in the Rounds within his first year and rubbing shoulders with the elite forces in his second. Just when Gino thought that his achievements were extraordinary, along came Suzaku Kururugi – the knight who was offered a place in the Rounds only because he turned in Britannia's greatest enemy Zero. Gino still found it very ironic that the same Suzaku had now became the very thing he had wanted to destroy.

It was only when he was eighteen that Gino reconciled with his family. It was his sister that arranged for him to meet with their father and for the two to patch up, but as much as Mayra Weinberg tried, tensions between them still remained until Maxima's intervention much later. Gino found it very queer that the person who was never involved in this incident or had the slightest idea about it was the one who was able to help them heal, and till this day, Gino had yet to tell Maxima about that fragment of his past. He had considered telling her, though, but never found the pressing need to do so, and subconsciously, he had the gut feeling that this would undo him.

A loud creak jolted his senses to the present, and Gino realised that he had spaced out. He whipped his head towards the carriage door to see Maxima stepping in, and in her hand was a large grey thermal flask of unknown origin.

"You're back," said Gino, relieved. "I was beginning to wonder if I needed to go in to drag you out."

Maxima gave him a harmless glare. "You wouldn't be let in anyway," she said in-a-matter-of-factly. "Not without permission."

"Do I need permission?" Gino asked, scooting over to where Maxima had seated. "After all, aren't we almost..." he paused dramatically, which earned him another glare from Maxima. "Family?"

Maxima scoffed playfully. "Who's family with you, Gino Weinberg?"

Gino threw an arm over Maxima's shoulders and pulled her close to him. "Well, not yet 'family', but close enough though, yes?"

Maxima turned away from him, but Gino knew, even without seeing her face, that his princess was smiling. Maxima turned back to face him a moment later, her expression plain. She raised up the flask towards Gino. "Cornelia insisted that you have this," she explained as Gino took the flask and unscrewed the cover.

Gino took a whiff of the contents and frowned. "It's Darjeeling tea. You know I only drink Ceylon White."

"I know," said Maxima firmly. "But I couldn't refuse her. Anyway, it's good Darjeeling tea."

Gino sighed. "I'll leave it for later," he said, with all intention to throw it away. "Maybe they'll want some."

Maxima eyed Gino suspiciously, as if knowing what he planned to do. "Do whatever you want," she said, taking the capped flask and placing it on top of the carton of oranges. "Just don't waste it. A lot of people never have a chance to drink such fine tea."

Gino glared daggers at the flask, irritated that Maxima had cornered him again. The carriage started rocking as the horses started moving. "We're leaving now?" Gino asked rhetorically.

Maxima nodded. "We're going to be late if we don't. I think I've spent too long a time here."

"Any other stops?"

Without saying a word, Maxima answered that question with another one of her mysterious, coy smiles and Gino immediately knew something was up. "Oh no," he muttered, not liking it one bit. "Who are we visiting now?"

Maxima giggled at Gino's slightly flustered expression. "Friends," she said, and Gino raised an eyebrow.

"Friends?"

"Friends."

* * *

**Endnotes:**

(Unlike what Gino thinks,) the next chapter will be the last chapter of the first part, meaning that who Maxima and Gino planned to visit will be revealed then, although I'm sure that the more perceiving readers would have already figured out since the very first chapter. This chapter, initially planned to be darker, foreshadows the next section, which will most probably cover more of Maxima and Gino's relationship and other issues. Hope you will follow through with me till then.

-FantasyWR


	4. Chapter 4

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Author's Note:

I'm sorry for the long, long wait for this chapter (it's been more than a year and a half, I believe). This is the last chapter of the first part of this story. I'm not sure when I'll continue with the second part (but as of now, I do not see myself abandoning this story altogether, so I will update it *soon*), and I thank you all for following this story for till now.

Enjoy.

- FantasyWR

**

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**Chapter 4:**

Gino lowered the carton of oranges and placed them on the dirt floor for the third time in thirty minutes and shrugged his shoulders, trying to ease his tensed muscles. He clenched stiff fingers and punched the air in all directions, as if doing a strange dance – a dance he himself did not know. He glared at his source of pain and bared his teeth threateningly, but the drawing of the orange with a face just smiled back at him innocently and Gino believed that it was mocking him. Gino pouted and folded his arms across his chest in protest.

"What on earth are you doing, Gino?"

Gino looked front where Maxima was standing five feet away, eyeing him suspiciously, her eyebrows knitted in a slight frown. Gino blinked, not at her expression, but rather at what she was wearing. It had already been two hours since the carriage stopped by a local convenience store with a small rack of clothes for sale where the two of them had a change of clothes, but this was probably the first time Gino actually paid attention to the outfit that Maxima had picked out for herself. Gone were the designer, thigh-length dress and knee-high leather boots, and in their place were a yellow tank-top, a pair of baggy khaki slacks and brown sandals. Maxima's long blond hair had been tied in not one, but two ponytails, each resting on either shoulder.

Gino couldn't resist a small snicker. If there was a time when a princess looked like a country bumpkin, this was the exact moment.

They had abandoned their luxurious ride outside the same convenience store, informing the driver that they would be back the next day at the same time. The middle-aged man had nodded slightly and driven off to a place neither of them knew of. As soon as the carriage disappeared over the bridge, they rushed into the tiny store, grabbed some clothes and quickly changed out of the ones they were wearing, entrusting them to the storekeeper who clearly gawked at the labels. Gino wondered if the man would sell them to the next customer to earn a ridiculous profit, but then again, not many who lived in that region could afford them anyway. Besides, he was quite accustomed to doing this, even though he had been very reluctant to part with his favourite shirt the first time Maxima had dragged him along on a trip of the same nature. He, however, understood the logic behind it, because expensive clothes were not practical on a three-hour-long journey on foot, and neither will they blend into the local community. The last thing they both wanted to do was to attract attention.

"Gino, what are you laughing at?"

Gino immediately stifled his laughter and coughed to clear his throat. He watched as Maxima closed the distance between them quickly, alternating her glances between him and the carton on the road. She eventually focused her entire attention on Gino and his slightly reddened face.

"You haven't answered my question yet," she remarked, her lips pursed in a slight smile of amusement. Gino returned one himself and lazily prodded the hated carton with his shoe, which obviously did not budge the slightest bit.

"I'm tired," Gino whined, shrugging his shoulders repeatedly. "This carton seems heavier than the previous years'. Did you get Jeremiah to add more oranges into this one?"

"No, silly," said Maxima, still not taking her eyes off Gino. Finally, she took once glance at the carton. "Why don't _I_ carry it?"

It took Gino a moment to register what Maxima had just suggested and once it clicked in his head, he immediately made a mad dash for the orange carton, grabbing onto it and lifting it up faster than he had put it down. "No way," he said firmly. "How could I get the _princess_ to carry this?"

Maxima smirked at his reaction and Gino immediately knew that he had fallen for her ruse, yet again. The very first time he had committed the same mistake was back in their days in the military, when Maxima was still Georgia Marken, and Gino would have done anything to correct that error or at least wipe that incident from his and everyone else's memory. Just thinking about it made his cheeks flush even more.

"You tricked me," said Gino through gritted teeth. "_Again_." He placed much emphasis on the last word.

"You fell for it," retorted Maxima playfully. "_Again_." Gino scowled at her response and Maxima laughed. Reaching forward, she smiled and grabbing onto Gino's forearms, she pulled him forward. "Come on," she said in what Gino interpreted as mix between an apologetic and urging tone. "I give you a massage later when we reach their house."

* * *

After almost an hour later, Gino found himself walking into a remotely familiar village. It was a small community, consisting of no more than fifty homes, of which many were inhabited by middle-aged couples whose children have grown up, found work in the city and have decided to start their own families away from the place of their childhood. There were a few families with young children who were taught to read and write in the village school, but Gino knew that they would follow in the footsteps of the others who had left very soon. A shudder ran down his spine at that thought, for he, too, had left his own family to pursue what he had wanted years back.

Gino could not remember the exact house he was to visit, so he followed closely behind Maxima, who had progressed to the homestead at the edge of the village, nearest to the lake which marked the border of the community. Climbing up the short flight of stairs to the front door, Gino wobbled slightly, partly due to the weight of the carton of oranges he was carrying, but also because the wooden steps most probably have had experienced one too many thunderstorms and have become rather unstable.

The condition of the front door further strengthened his theory, for the wooden door was no longer its original dark colour. Instead, the colour had faded to a pale brown - the same colour as the Empress' hair – a sign that rain was frequent in this part of the world and the rain had bleached the door quite badly. Gino concluded that Maxima probably did not notice these details as he did, for upon reaching the door, she unhesitatingly knocked on it twice and waited.

Within moments, the door swung open with a loud creak and a lone figure appeared in the doorway. The first thing that caught his attention was the golden eyes of the occupant of the house that stared first at Maxima, then shifted their gaze to Gino, and then returned to Maxima. The next thing was the attire of their hostess – it was apparent that she had been in the midst of preparing dinner before their intrusion.

"We're here," said Maxima, smiling. "I hope we're in time for dinner."

Their hostess nodded casually at Maxima, then turned her attention to Gino's carton of oranges. Gino immediately stepped forward with the goods. "From Jeremiah, as always."

Their hostess tucked a stray strand of green hair behind her left ear and gestured for Gino to enter their house. "You can leave it at the side there," she said as Gino stepped through the doorway. "I'll unpack it later."

Maxima watched as Gino disappeared into the house, then turned to face their hostess again. "Good to see you again, C.C. It's been a long time."

"A year isn't _that_ long," replied C.C. in her usual emotionless tone. "Come, I'm making pizza today." She gestured for Maxima to enter.

As Maxima took a step into the lighted corridor of the village house, a question suddenly struck her. Turning to C.C. once again, she asked, "Where's…?"

C.C. did not wait for her to finish her question – there was no need to, in any case, for there was only one person that came into both their minds. "He's over by the lake," said C.C. "And I know he'll like to see you."

* * *

Maxima felt the stones lining the side of the lake crunch beneath her sandals as she walked towards the lone figure seated facing the lake a few metres in front of her. Even with his back towards her, Maxima was certain that he was aware of her presence, though he showed no sign to acknowledge her as yet.

It was only when she stood just beside him that he held out his hand towards her and invited her to sit down next to him. She sat, with her legs folded under her, and like her companion, stared quietly at the vast lake, though unable to see its other bank. A moment passed before either of them moved, then Maxima turned to look at her companion and realised that he had done the same. As purple orbs met purple orbs, both broke into smiles.

"How are you?" Maxima was pleasantly surprised that it was her companion who had spoke first. "You haven't changed much, Maxima."

"Neither have you," said Maxima rather innocently, but as her companion's face fell slightly at that comment, she bit her lip and turned away from him. She knew she should not have said that, for she knew that she had touched on a sensitive topic. "I'm sorry."

From the corner of her eye, Maxima saw her companion let out a sigh and shook his head, his dark hair swishing slightly from the motion. She turned to see him clutch his left hand in his right, the cursed mark just slightly visible on his palm in her line of sight. He looked at her and followed her gaze to his hand. He sighed once again, this time completely obscuring the V-shaped mark from Maxima's view with his right hand.

"It's not your fault," he finally said, his voice still as authoritative as it was years back. "It's solely mine. You don't have to apologise for anything."

"Do you regret it?" asked Maxima, turning to face the lake once again. "Regret that you took that route?"

Her companion shook his head firmly and, too, turned to face the lake. "You know, you and I - we - were both brought up the same way and we were taught never to regret our decisions, no matter what the outcome was.

"My outcome isn't too bad, anyway," said he quickly, though Maxima wasn't certain who he was trying to convince – her or himself.

"But you had to leave them," pointed out Maxima quietly. "Leave the people you love and who love you-"

"But I have you," said he suddenly, catching Maxima by surprise. Turning to her, he smiled. "I am very thankful that you have come, every now and then, to visit us, to remind me of the family that I have; for bringing Gino, to remind me of the friends that I have…" His voiced trailed off as he turned slightly away from her, as if in deep thought or perhaps lost in some memory.

"Would you like to see her again?" Her question rolled of her tongue faster than what she had planned. Knowing that it definitely caught her companion's attention, she continued. "Would you like to see Nunnally again, face-to-face?"

A smile that was brighter than the previous one came to his lips but quickly faded as he frowned. Maxima knew what his concerns were. "Don't forget who I am. There are things that are within my power, and I can make them happen at the correct time."

Maxima saw her companion's frown fade upon hearing her assurance and heaved a silent sigh of relief. This was perhaps the only gift that Maxima could promise her companion, but it was a gift, though great in his mind, not sufficing the sacrifice he made five years ago – he had turned the world against him in order to erase Euphemia's "crime" from everyone's memory, and in doing so, was forced to leave the people closest to him, forced to leave his dearest sister.

"Nunnally forgives you," added Maxima, hoping that this piece of news would make him feel better. "She understands why you did what you did, and she forgives you, Lelouch."

The corners of Lelouch's mouth turned up as a smile formed on his thin lips and this time, it stayed as he turned to face Maxima. "You told me that before, Maxima, but thank you for reminding me."

They exchanged no more words between them from that moment on; instead, they just stared at the lake in silence, enjoying the cool breeze that blew over from the opposite bank. Closing her eyes, Maxima saw herself and Lelouch playing in Empress Marianne's garden, rolling about in the grass and smelling the flowers. Though she could not see Lelouch's expression, she knew that he, too, was relieving that memory, for it was the best one that they had created as brother and sister.

A call from behind them made both turn around, and they saw Gino jumping up and down and waving madly from the balcony of C.C.'s house. It was a call for dinner. Maxima and Lelouch stood up wordlessly and made their way from the lake back to the house. However, before leaving the bank completely, Maxima turned back to look at the lake once again. She remembered a time during the long war when the seas were stained with so much blood that they were called the Crimson Seas, but that was all in a distant past, for they now reflect the colour of the sapphire skies. Maxima knew that this would not be possible without the sacrifice of the Demon King.

Her train of thought was disrupted by someone taking her hand from behind her. She spun around just in time to meet Lelouch's gaze and match his pace as they both ran towards the house as the sun disappeared below the horizon.

* * *

**End of Part I**

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**Endnotes:**

I chose to incorporate the popular theory that Lelouch was still alive because he obtained the code into this story, probably because when I first thought of writing this, I was still very reluctant to believe that he died "just-like-that" and also because the ending of the series was very open to interpretation. However, two years after watching the series, I guess I have (sort of) come to terms with it, and also because it has been confirmed by the writers that Lelouch did make the ultimate sacrifice. I did think of writing an alternate Chapter 4 that was more canon to the original storyline (maybe I'll add that in some time later as an extra chapter), but in the end I went ahead with what I originally planned because Maxima's promise to Lelouch would play a key role in the Part II of this story. In any case, thank you, dear reader, for staying with me and this story till now, and I hope you will be looking forward to Part II.

-FantasyWR


	5. Epilogue

**Author's note:**

A short chapter this time. I needed to a break from what I had been doing previously, and I guess I turned to writing.

Enjoy!

-FantasyWR

* * *

**Part II**

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**Chapter 1**

Despite having been an active soldier during the war and thus having slept in the strangest of places, Gino has never – save for the time that he got drunk one night and found himself lying next to the back door of the lounge the next morning – not known where he was when he woke up. This would be, excluding the incident caused by his overconsumption of alcohol to drown his sorrows, the first. Without opening his eyes, he proprioceptively realised that he had employed the most undignified sleeping position. His right hand and arm were raised well above his head, his left stretched as far away from his torso as possible. While his left leg was still vertically below his main body, his right was bent at the knee and dangling over the edge of whatever he was sleeping on. Gino brought his left hand back towards himself, at the same time sweeping the top of the surface he was lying on. The springy and soft cloth-like material that he managed to grip onto told him that he was on a mattress. He was definitely on a bed, and most probably, it was _his_ bed.

Feeling the lack of an elevation caused by a pillow under his head, his right hand began searching for the said head-support. He seemingly felt something as it reached the furthest distance his arm could afford, but the item disappeared as soon as his hand came into contact with it. Instead, he heard a soft thump as something landed on the floor next to the bed. He realised that he had just knocked his pillow off. Slightly irritated, Gino finally opened his eyes. The first thing that came into his line of vision was a green ceiling, which told him that he was indeed in his room and on his bed. He smiled to himself contently. It had been quite awhile since he had slept in his own bed in his family home. He had spent majority of his nights in the palace dealing with the various security issues, or abroad meeting with the many dignitaries of the allied nations. Even during his vacation, which Gino felt was well-deserved, he had ironically spent most of his sleeping time in a carriage while on the move. It almost seems that sleeping in one's own bed was a rare luxury.

Retracting his dangling leg from over the edge of his mattress, Gino sat up and surveyed his surroundings. Yes, he was definitely in his room, from the colours of the wall and ceiling to the carpet on the floor and the things strewn on it. Apparently during his absence, no one had bothered to clean up his mess for him – his mother must have instructed the servants not to do so, as she had always done, in an attempt to teach him to clean up after himself. Gino shook his head and sighed. It had never worked; his room was still a warzone.

Now that Gino had established where he was, he had to find out when he was. A glance at the date on his digital alarm clock on his side table told him that it was the day after he had returned from his break, which also equated to his first day of work. The time told him that he still had two hours before he had to report in. Gino half-expected himself to be tardy, considering how late he had returned the night before. Perhaps this was an effect of having just returned from the south – jetlag, the called it.

He swung both legs off his bed and pushed himself off the mattress. He felt his feet touch the carpet and he dug his toes into the material. With his arms bent, he pushed his elbows towards the centreline of his back and looked up towards the ceiling, at the same time emitting a loud groan as he stretched his muscles. He strode across his floor to his wardrobe and opened it, grabbing two hangers holding his top and pants, then made his way to his bathroom. As he laid his hand on the handle of the door leading to his toilet, he turned around and gave his room another glance-over. Pursing his lips, he left both hangers hanging at the door handle and went back to his bed. He glared at the fallen pillow, followed by the thick blanket that had been pushed against the bottom board of his bedstead, and then grinned. He imagined the shock on the chambermaid's face if she came into his room to see his bed made. On second thought, it probably won't be too great a shock because of the mess that the rest of the room was in, but still, it was a start.

He grabbed the pillow by the corner and fluffed it, like how he had seen the servants do, and plopped it squarely in the centre of his queen-sized mattress. Then, he took the heavy, crumpled duvet and lifted it off the bed, shaking out all the crinkles. It was then that he heard a thud as a round object fell out from under the covers and hit the floor, bouncing once before rolling under the bed. Gino paused, puzzled at what it could be, and bending down, he stuck his hand under the mattress platform and waved it around. His hand finally came into contact with the round item and he pulled it out to see what it was. The item's colour was the first thing that struck him. Upon realising what it was, Gino could not help but smile. While he had seen many bring back memorabilia from their trips, Gino's vacations had no souvenirs to speak of – not even photographs or postcards – save for the experiences and memories. Yet, somehow, this trip was different. While he was refused the item early in the trip, he eventually was given one just before he left their humble abode. He just didn't realise that he had brought it to bed with him.

Gino pressed it a little to bruise it, and he was immediately met with a fresh, citrusy smell. He then laid it on his side table next to his alarm clock and threw his blanket over the mattress, remembering to fold it back before it reached his pillow. He then took a step back to admire his handiwork. The area around his pillow seemed bare, he must confess, and he remembered the other pillows and cushions that he had stuffed into the top rack of his closet because he had no need of them. He shrugged off the thought of returning them to his bed – they will all end up on his floor anyway.

A beep from his clock drew his attention away from his bed, and Gino realised that he only had an hour and a half to get to work. Hurriedly, he made a one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn and headed for the bathroom door. However, as he took his clothes from the door handle, something in him made him turn back again to look at the fruit that was adjacent to the digital display of his clock. The orange, this time without the cartoon face drawn onto it like on the carton, just stared silently back at him, like it always did.

Gino smiled. He had to admit, this vacation had been a good one.


End file.
